Meixner Schlüter Wendt
New Henninger tower
best architects 20
multi-family homes
Place
Frankfurt, Germany
Photos
Christoph Kraneburg
Description
The starting point for the new high-rise residential Henninger Tower
building was a sense of responsibility towards the history of the original Henninger
Tower, which was a rather whimsical, but much-loved monument. It had great
significance for Frankfurt and for the entire state of Hesse – and could
also be described as an emotional memorial. The conceptual priority was
therefore to retain or transform the image of the «Henninger Tower» in some
form. The transformation of the existing structure references the exact original
image of the Henninger Tower as seen from the town: a cubic tower with a
superimposed rotating restaurant and its significant proportion. Although the proportions have been considerably
changed, the principle of the imagined pseudo readymade works in the collective
perception – for the
population of Frankfurt the Henninger Tower is back. On the façade of the town-facing aspect, the windows of the existing structure
were cloned and reproduced. Towards the south, west and east, the façade is characterised by the building’s new use as a residential high rise through a variation in style and by
opening the apartments to the view. Balconies placed in front of the apartments
in colossal order surround them on three sides and provide a generous amount of
outside space. Partial windscreens and winter garden areas allow for different
protected uses. A two-storey loggia acts as the transition between the apartment interior and the expanse of the urban space.